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Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and morphometric analysis of coastal belts: The state of Oregon, USA. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 238–271. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Classification of the state of Oregon coastal belt (western United States) was based on the interpretation of satellite imagery using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS). This seven-county, 480-km stretch was subdivided based on coastal archetypes that formed distinct bio-geomorphological and ecological sequences on both alongshore and cross-shore axes. Shore-parallel and shore-perpendicular units were concomitantly determined by cognitive inspection of satellite images, in which cross-shore archetypical sequences were observed in the first instance to have alongshore spread that could be secondarily codified in terms of alongshore catenas. Because shore-normal transects encompass marine, coastal, and terrestrial environments that have a shore-parallel width, it was possible to extrapolate cross-shore classificatory units into alongshore stretches called domains. Characterization of alongshore domains was based on conjoining archetypes into catenary sequences that typify coastal belts both alongshore and cross-shore from adjacent offshore areas to several kilometers inland. Compilation of coastal belt catenas showed that promontories and headlands, which are composed of resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks, function as anchor points along the shore and are interspersed by sedimentary (littoral) coastal belts that contain mainland and barrier beaches backed by dune, wetland, flat (estuaries), or upland archetypes. A consizement of several alongshore domain catenary sequences within a particular coastal segment thus formed an overarching super domain. Typical alongshore super domains consisted of the following sequences: Barrier-Beach-Dune (Ba-Be-Du), Barrier-Beach-Dune-Wetland (Ba-Be-Du-W), Beach-Dune-Upland (Be-Du-U), Beach-Dune-Wetland (Be-Du-W), Beach-Cliff-Upland (Be-Cl-U), Beach-Wetland-Flat (Be-W-F), and Rock-Cliff-Upland (R-Cl-U). Morphometric analysis of each county allowed the determination of specific characteristics for each super domain (e.g., alongshore length, percentage of the county coastal belt, and percentage of the Oregon coastal belt). Furthermore, archetype morphometrics were calculated to show which cross-shore archetypical features were most prevalent along the state's coastal belt. This examination of the Oregon coast showed that the alongshore classification of coastal belts on a regional scale, which is based on cross-shore biophysical interpretations, offers the opportunity to characterize offshore, inshore, and onshore eco-geomorphological features through the use of super domains and morphometric analysis. This approach to coastal classification thus serves as a blueprint for the comprehensive characterization of coastal belts worldwide.

Finkl, C.W. and Vollmer, H.M., 2017. Methods for investigating sediment flux under high-energy conditions on the southeast Florida continental shelf using Laser Airborne Depth Sounding (LADS) in a Geographic Information System (GIS) dataframe. Laser Airborne Depth Sounding (LADS) bathymetric surveys conducted in 2001 and 2008 bracket two hurricane landfalls (Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005) in Broward County, southeast Florida, thus providing an opportunity to investigate changes in bottom topography as a result of wave and current action. The seafloor in this region is characterized by a wide range of sedimentary features that are normally stabilized (held in place) by outcrops of carbonate bedrock and coral reefs. During high-energy events, however, the sedimentary deposits are partially mobilized by waves and currents. This methodological study used the two LADS bathymetric surveys to construct triangulated irregular networks (TINs, which are a digital means of representin...

Rodriguez Paneque, R. and Finkl, C.W., 2020. Erosion of carbonate beaches on the northeastern coast of Cuba. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(2), 339–352. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Beaches on the northeastern coast of Cuba have made this area one of the most important tourist destinations in the Caribbean, despite the fact that many beaches are visibly eroded. In this study, the causes and magnitude of coastal erosion on the northeastern coast of Cuba were evaluated using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS 4.3) application, satellite images, and beach profiles. Time frames between 7 and 14 years were considered from 2003 to 2017 using satellite images and between 11 and 18 years using beach profiles. Results of this investigation showed that 56% of northeastern coast beaches tend to erode at a rate of less than 1.2 m/y. An increase in the recurrence of extreme events (hurricanes and tropical storms) during the last 39 years induced more beach erosion. It was furthermore observed that El Nino–Southern Oscillation events enhanced the sedimentary balance of the beaches by returning sand volumes that were transported in a westerly direction to their original shoreline locations. Possibly due to sea-level rise, which may be occurring in response to global warming, beaches on the northeast coast will retreat on average about 0.17 m/y. At this rate of shoreline recession, by the end of the twenty-first century, 14% of the beaches on this littoral will be lost, and the width of 27% of the other beaches will be significantly reduced.

Oretga, L.; Celentano, E.; Finkl, C., and Defeo, O., 2013. Effects of climate variability on the morphodynamics of Uruguayan sandy beaches. Effects of long-term trends in climatic variability on the morphodynamics of a reflective and a dissipative sandy beach in Uruguay (SW Atlantic Ocean) were analyzed. The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) alternates between warm and cold cycles with a periodicity of roughly 70 years, with a shift toward a warm phase since 1995, resulting in an increase of sea surface temperature in the study area. Wind speed anomalies (WSA) also increased through time and were associated with an increasing speed of southerly winds, particularly after 1997. Beach morphodynamics showed no statistically significant trends in grain size, but long-term morphodynamic patterns differed between beaches: the dissipative beach showed an increase in swash and beach width, Dean's parameter, and the Beach Index (a measure of beach morphodynamic state). At the same time, the slope dec...

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2013. Perception of Coastal Hazards in Terms of Physical, Biological, and Human-Induced Cascades: An Example from the Southeast Florida Coastal Zone (SFCZ). Discussions of coastal hazard impacts commonly emphasize geomorphological, geodynamic, and meteohydrodynamic physical events. A true census of all coastal hazards must also, however, include not-so-obvious biological and anthropogenic impacts. Biological coastal hazards are now more common because increasing human presence along shores fosters contact with hazardous biological flora and fauna. Human-induced hazards, often viewed as normal daily activities, cryptically lead to unwanted erosion and deposition or to the pollution of coastal marine environments. The South Florida Coastal Zone (SFCZ) is a good example of how all three categories of coastal hazards (physical processes, biological ecodynamics, and anthropogenic machinations) collectively constitute a negative-pressure cascade upon the coast. Accurate id...

Australia is one of the driest continents on earth with most interior lands classified as steppe or desert. With an expanding coastal population pushing farther inland, the need for freshwater increases for urban use, agriculture, and industry and because there is little freshwater at the surface and most of the groundwater is too saline and generally unsuitable for multiple uses, new sources of freshwater must be sought to sustain future development of Western Australia's interior. To mitigate this ongoing macroproblem, it is proposed to establish a new Southern Ocean maritime sea-lane between Antarctica and Western Australia with the first large-scale deployment of very capacious floating liquid freshwater containers (Stauber bags), barges hauled and shuttled regularly by carousel-type supertugboats to convey a directly acquired, essentially cost-free, bulk-harvested potable subglacial Antarctic meltwater possibly siphoned from beneath the floating Amery Ice Shelf and transported to Western Aus...

It might be argued that this paper does not sensu stricto contribute to "polar science." It, however, rekindles aspects of its history and of that of both oceanography and cartography. Obviously the interest for the polar regions was keen in the 19th century and elicited financial support. The paper may lift anew the veil that has somewhat dimmed the light that should shine on polar science achievements of Belgian explorers and scientists. Knowledge of the names of geographic features in the Antarctic is probably less widespread, and yet, there are many Belgian names on and near the southernmost continent. Most names were given by the head of the first-ever Antarctic expedition to spend a winter on the southernmost continent. Belgian Royal Navy Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery's expedition in the Antarctic brought back a wealth of scientific information. His trip ended precisely 111 years ago, and has been--literally--carved in stone as the Belgica is indeed one of the 20 oceanographic vessels Prince Albert I of Monaco selected to be represented on the façade of the Musée Océanographique de Monaco.

Coastal restoration in Louisiana requires clean sands for beach and dune restoration, whereas mixed sediments are required to rebuild marshes. The Louisiana coastal erosion problem is especially dire because it occurs on several fronts with the narrowing and overtopping of barrier islands and loss of back barrier bay and interior marshlands. Coastal restoration efforts in Louisiana depend on emplacement of sediment to build up barrier island and deltaic systems. Discovery of usable sediment is thus a vital factor in restoration efforts because up to 80% of some restoration project budgets can be allocated to exploration, exploitation, and emplacement of sediment. Because this cost is directly proportional to the distance of borrow sources from the project area, the cost-effectiveness of barrier island restoration and marsh creation depends on locating sufficient sediment volumes that are suitable for placement on beaches and dunes and for creating marshes. The restoration of Louisiana's barrier i...

Differentiation of continental shelf morphology along the southeast Florida Atlantic coast was based on interpretation of airborne laser bathymetry. The 600-km2 shelf study area, which had a shoreline extent of about 160 km and extended up to 10 km offshore, displayed a diverse range of seafloor morphologies that were characteristic of four main alongshore reaches. Reach I (sand flats and karst topography) in the northern part of the study area is terminated southward by the Bahamas Fracture Zone, a major morphotectonic feature. Reach II (sand flats and coral reefs) is characterized by sand flats with diabathic channel fields leeward or shoreward of the Florida Reef Tract, the seaward margin of which occurs along the shelf break on the upper part of the continental slope. Reach III (sand flats, hardgrounds, and coral reefs) is characterized by extensive nearshore rock outcrops that are exposed as bare rock surfaces on the seafloor or are variously mantled by thin veneers of sand that are not thic...

Much of the coastal southeast Florida Peninsula is heavily urbanized, and many native environments have been destroyed or severely affected by urbanization. In an attempt to reconstruct potential natural environments, soil properties were used as a basis for recognizing prior landscapes. Pedological associations were adopted because they provided landscape features that were least modified by urbanization and they could be used as a unifying basis for categorization of native coastal environments. A geographic information system analysis ring was used for querying coverages for soil distribution patterns, vegetation, hydrology (drainage), topography, and geology. By simultaneously generalizing and recombining soil survey data, land use cover types, topography, and hydrology, it was possible to identify recurring patterns of soils, landforms, and vegetation. Results of this analysis produced 13 land systems with 25 subunits that included various types of lakebeds, tree islands, marshes, prairies, sloughs, sandplains, glades, marshlands, lagoons, estuaries, and beaches. The resulting map for potential natural environments in Palm Beach and Broward Counties complements conceptual ecological models for the Greater Florida Everglades Ecosystem, de-veloped for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The Australian land systems approach, as applied in this study, provides insight into coastal environments that lie outside of ecological models for mostly protected areas inland.

Beach nourishment requires large volumes of sand from offshore and new sources are constantly sought for development. The sediment-starved continental shelf off the central-west coast of Florida has traditionally supplied beach-quality sediments from ebb-tidal shoals and nearshore sand sheets, but as these supplies dwindle, sand searches increasingly look farther offshore for resources. Widely spaced sediment ridges, interspersed by karstified limestone seafloor (hard grounds), offer potential as sand resources that can be exploited by dredging to renourish eroded beaches for shore protection. The sand ridges, late Holocene in age, are generally shoreface detached, sediment starved, and clustered in “ridge fields.” Six sediment ridge fields identified along 285 km of coast (Anclote, Sand Key, Sarasota, Manasota, Captiva, and Collier) contain about 1.4 billion cubic meters of sediments that are potentially available for dredging. Evaluation of these sediment sources, within the purview of the USMi...

Coastal land loss in the Mississippi River delta region, related to degradation of wetlands and erosion of barrier islands, contributes to loss of valuable habitat, endangerment of infrastructure and socioeconomic systems, and coastal flooding hazards. Restoration of these ecosystems is thus a primary activity that requires large volumes of sand to rebuild beach–dune systems and restore wetland habitats. Sand sources have traditionally been sought offshore in the marine environment, but there are problems associated with setbacks from oil and gas infrastructure, presence of muddy overburden, and limited reserves of beach-quality sediments. Fluvial sand sources in channel and point-bar deposits become an attractive alternative for barrier island restoration because of large volumes of relict deposits and because active sand waves are renewable. Results of preliminary geophysical and geotechnical investigations in the lower Mississippi River (south of New Orleans) along a 32-km stretch of the river...

Airborne laser bathymetry (ALB) is a new laser bathymetric survey tool that has applicability in clear coastal (Case II) waters to depths of −70 m. The new sounding technique features rapid acquisition of large, high-quality data sets via variable swath widths that are independent of water depth. This advanced ALB system was deployed along the continental shelf of southeast Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties), providing a contiguous data set for 160 km of coast from onshore to 6 km offshore. Image enhancement of the ALB digital data facilitates recognition of numerous seafloor features and bathymetric patterns. Bathymetric analysis of the 600-km2 survey area on the continental shelf shows inherited lithologic features that are partly covered by surficial sediments. Primary parabathic (shore-parallel) provinces include: (1) nearshore rocky zones dominated by the Anastasia Formation, (2) coral-algal reef systems (Florida Reef Tract [FRT]), and (3) marine platforms (terraces). Sed...

Airborne laser bathymetric (ALB) systems rapidly acquire large, high-quality datasets via variable swath widths that are independent of water depth. Laser bathymetric survey tools have applicability in clear coastal (Case II) waters down to −70 meters depth. Deployed along the southeast Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties) coast, an advanced ALB system provided a continuous dataset for 160 kilometers of coast from onshore to 6 kilometers offshore. Digital terrain models developed from this high-density bathymetric data permitted recognition of numerous seafloor features and bathymetric patterns from different image formats. Bathymetric analysis of the 600-km2 survey area on the narrow continental shelf shows inherited lithologic features that are partly covered by surficial sediments. Primary parabathic provinces include: (1) nearshore rocky zones dominated by the Anastasia Formation, (2) coral-algal reef systems (Florida Reef Tract [FRT]), and (3) marine terraces. Secondary sed...